Package holder for textile machines

ABSTRACT

A package holder for textile machines such as shuttleless looms for maintaining a weft yarn package thereon having plurality gripping pads separately and pivotably carried on separate linkage elements of the scissors type. The pads are moved into and out of locking engagement with the cone of a package by a longitudinally movable and manually operable spindle on which the linkage elements are mounted and provides for positive positioning of a cone, its quick removal, and can be utilized to accommodate a substantial number of yarn cones having different internal shapes and diameters.

United States Patent m1 Budzyna l l Aug. 5, 1975 PACKAGE HOLDER FOR TEXTILE MACHINES [751 lnventor: Edward S. Budzyna, East Douglas Mass.

[73] Assignee: Rockwell International Corporation.

Pittsburgh, Pa.

[22] Filed: Nov. 13, 1974 2| Appl. P10252315) [52] US. Cl. 242/1301; 242/l l0,2 [51] Int. Cl.'- i. BGSH 49/36 [581 Field of Search .i l39/l22 R; 66/l25; 242/l ll) ll().l llUfl ll0.3. I30, l30.l, 2

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2 763.577 971956 Herr 242/72 107,47fi :l/lihfi Brooks et ul .l 242/1102 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 2.035.465 2/1969 France 242/] I02 Primary E.\'uminerHenry S Jaudon ABSTRACT A package holder for textile machines such as shuttleless looms for maintaining a weft yarn package thereon having plurality gripping pads separately and pivotably carried on separate linkage elements of the scissors type The pads are moved into and out of locking engagement with the cone of a package by a longitudinally movable and manually operable spindle on which the linkage elements are mounted and provides for positive positioning of a cone, its quick re moval and can be utilized to accommodate a substantial number of yarn cones having different internal shapes and diameters.

4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures 1 PACKAGE HOLDER FOR TEXTILE MACHINES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention pertains to a package holder for textile machines and. more particularly. to an improved type package holder for so-called shuttleless looms.

In looms of the shuttleless type. that is, those looms in which weft yarn is supplied froman outside source and is not carried to and fro through the shed by the shuttle or carrier itself, it is common practice to utilize a package holder at one side of the loom to support the supply of weft from which the required amounts are withdrawn during loom operation. Package holders utilized prior to the instant invention possess limitations which are considered unsatisfactory for present day looms.

Such package holders are frequently limited to the size and weight of a yarn package which they are able to support as well as the internal configuration of the cone upon which the package iswound.

These limitations are attributed to the configuration of known forms of so-called cone or package holders many of which will only accommodate a single form of cone and the limited area which their gripping elements are capable of engaging the internal surface of a cone limits the size and weight of a yarn package which can be firmly held by the package holder.

The vibration created by a loom in operation frequently is the cause of failure of known package holders to firmly position a weft package thereon. and in the event ofsuch a condition premature wear of the holder results along with excessive wearing of the internal surface of the cone member itself. As a result of this wear to the cone. difficulty is often experienced when donning a weft package because of the bore of the cone being oversize due to said wear which was induced from not being firmly held on previous occasions.

The package holder according to the present invention has corrected the disadvantages described above by providing a holder having gripping elements which will accommodate a variety of cones regardless of their internal configuration. These gripping elements are self-aligning and will automatically adjust to the inner surface configuration of a cone. that is to say. they will conform to any degree of taper of the internal surface of a cone as well as one which has a straight bore. Additionally these gripping elements have substantially more contact surface, for engaging the inner surface of a cone. than cone holders of the prior art. and provides a means for firmly supporting a larger weft package than has been heretofore possible. This feature is beneficial from an economic viewpoint for it-will require less weft replenishment changes during a given period of time as well as enable an attendant to care for a greater number of looms.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The package holder of the present invention is provided with a support housing having a flanged sleeve assembled in and extending from said housing. A spindle assembles in the housing and is movable longitudinally by a manual means operatively associated with the housing. The spindle extends from the housing and has a collar member assembled on its outermost end. A plurality of pairs of connected link elements which define scissor linkage interconnect the collar member with the flanged sleeve and each pair of said link clemerits pivotably support a gripping pad. By turning the spindle in one direction each of the gripping pads are simultaneously moved outwardly to engage the inner surface of a cone and firmly position the yarn package on the holder. By simply turning the spindle in the opposite direction. the gripping pads are moved inwardly toward the axis of the spindle and the cone is readily removable from the holder.

It is a general object of the invention to provide an improved package holder for shuttleless looms which is capable of accommodating a large number of cones on which weft yarn is wound and which may have internal configurations with various degress of taper to the type having a straight bore.

A further object is to provide an improved package holder for shuttleless looms which is capable of firmly positioning a larger weft package than has heretofore been possible.

These and other objects of the present invention will become more fully apparent by reference to the appended claims and as the following detailed description proceeds in reference to the figures of drawing wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is a view in side elevation showing the various components of the invention and the manner in which a gripping pad engages the internal surface of a cone.

FIG. 2 is an end view of the package holder in FIG. 1 as seen looking from the right side thereof.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a gripping pad and one of its scissor linkages taken along line 33 in FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a view in end elevation of the collar member assembled on the end of the spindle showing the means for attaching one end of the individual scissor linkage thereto, and

FIG. Sis a view similar to FIG. I and partially in section showing one of the gripping pads and its linkage extended to accommodate a larger cone.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT There is shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 a support housing indicated generally by numeral 10 having an elongated sleeve generally indicated by numeral 11 extending outwardly from one end thereof. Sleeve 11 is provided with a flange or integral shoulder 12 at its outer end and the opposite end is adapted to seat in an axially aligned, longitudinally extending counterbored hole 13 provided in housing 10 and is firmly held therein by means of a set screw 14.

Axially aligned with hole 13, the opposite end of housing 10 is internally threaded for a portion of its length as at 15 and is adapted to threadably receive therein the threaded portion 16 (preferably lefthanded) ofa spindle indicated generally by numeral I7 (FIGS. I and 5). This spindle assembles within the elongated sleeve II and housing 10 and extends outwardly from both ends thereof. Extending outwardly from the threaded portion I6, spindle I7 is provided with a neck member 18 which is adapted to receive a spindle handle 19 that is fixedly assembled thereto by means of a key 20 and a pin 21. The opposite end of this spindle is of reduced diameter as shown at 22 in FIG. 5 and has a collar member 23 assembled thereon by means of a cap screw 24 and washers 25 and 26. This collar 23 is carried on the outer end of the spindle in a manner to permit that portion of the spindle to rotate within said collar for reasons that will be more fully understood as the detailed description proceeds.

With reference to FIG. 4, collar member 23 is shown having three equally spaced and inwardly directed slots 27 each of which has associated therewith a pair of aligned holes 28 and 29 that extend in a plane normal to the sides of the slots and communicate with the outer periphery of said collar member 23.

The integral shoulder 12 ofsleeve 1] is provided with an equal number of slots 30 which are similar to slots 27 in collar member 23 and each is provided with a pair of aligned holes which are disposed like those of holes 28 and 29. A portion of one of these holes is shown in FIGSv l and S and is depicted by numeral 31.

Slots 27 and 30 are adapted to pivotably support a plurality of scissor linkage devices one of which is clearly shown in FIGS. l and and is identified generally by numeral 32. This scissor linkage device 32 includes a pair of connected link elements 33 and 34 with one end of link element 33 being pivotally assembled in a slot 30 by means of a pin 35 and one end of link element 34 being pivotally assembled in a slot 27 by means of a pin 36. The opposite ends of the link elements 33 and 34 are interconnected by a single pin 37 and retaining clip 38 (FIG. 3).

A gripping pad identified generally by numeral 39 is pivotally supported on pin 37 intermediate the ends of link elements 33 and 34 by means of an integral and centrally disposed apertured lug 40. A biasing means in the form of a torsion spring 41 (FIGS. 1, 2 and 3) is provided on the scissor linkage device and is disposed so as to continually urge those ends of the gripping pads 39 adjacent the collar 23 in the direction of the axis of the spindle 17. This biasing means serves to prevent pivotal displacement of the gripping pads when a cone is doffed and facilitates this donning of a new yarn package thereon.

In the preferred form of this invention that portion of the gripping pad adapted to engage the internal surface of a cone is knurled as shown at 42 in FIG. I; however, it should be understood that materials possessing gripping qualities such as rubber or the like could be applied to the surface of the pad in place of the knurled surface.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 a cone 43 is adapted to assemble over the gripping pads 39 with the base portion thereof seating against a cone positioning plate 44. This positioning plate assembles on sleeve 11 interme diate the housing and a spacer 45 also assembled on sleeve 11 intermediate said plate and its shoulder 12. In the event it is desirable to use a shorter cone, the location of the positioning plate 44 may be changed by assembling it between shoulder 12 and the spacer 45.

The support housing 10 is provided with a mounting means which includes a bolting surface 46 and a lug 47 extending therefrom (FIG 1) against which an adjusting screw (not shown) is caused to bear enabling angular adjustment of the complete assembly.

To summarize the operation a cone of weft yarn is placed over the gripping pads 39 to the extent where the base of said cone is caused to seat against the cone positioning plate 44. The spindle handle [9 is then turned a relatively short distance in an anti-clockwise direction causing the spindle to move longitudinally to the left as viewed in FIGS. I and S. This movement causes the central portion of the scissor linkage devices 32 to move in a direction away from the axis of the spindle and to cause the gripping pads 39 carried thereby to move into locking engagement with the internal surface of the cone 43. By simply turning the spindle handle I) in the opposite direction the spindle moves longitudinally to the right as viewed in FIGS. I and 5 causing the central portion of the scissor linkage devices to move in the direction of the axis of the spindle. Such movement moves the gripping pads 39 in a like direction to release their hold on the internal surface of the cone 43 which is then easily removed.

The gripping pads 39 being pivotally carried by the scissor linkage devices 32 permits said pads to adjust to any degree of taper which the internal surface of a cone may have as well as a cone having an internal surface of the same diameter for the entire length thereof.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that modifications and variations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as those skilled in the art will readily understand. Such modifications and variations are considered to be within the purview and scope of the invention and the appended claims.

I claim:

I. A package holder for textile machines which comprises:

a. a support housing;

b. an elongated sleeve assembled in and extending outwardly from said housing with a flange member forming the outer end thereof;

c. a spindle receivable into and movable longitudinally within said sleeve;

d. a collar member carried on one end of said spindle;

e. means including a plurality of pairs of connected link elements defining scissor linkage interconnecting said flange member with said collar member;

f. a gripping pad pivotally carried on each of said pairs of link elements; and

g. means mounted on the end of said spindle opposite said collar member for manually affecting longitudinal movement of said spindle and movement of the gripping pad carried by each pair of said link elements in one direction to lock a yarn package thereon and in the opposite direction to release this yarn package therefrom.

2. The apparatus according to claim I wherein each of said pad members includes a biasing means for continually urging the ends thereof most remote from said housing in the direction of the axis of said spindle.

3. The apparatus according to claim I wherein said package holder includes a positioning plate for locating the package thereon prior to locking it in position with said gripping pads.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said package holder includes means for varying the location of said positioning plate for accommodating yarn packages of different height. 

1. A package holder for textile machines which comprises: a. a support housing; b. an elongated sleeve assembled in and extending outwardly from said housing with a flange member forming the outer end thereof; c. a spindle receivable into and movable longitudinally within said sleeve; d. a collar member carried on one end of said spindle; e. means including a plurality of pairs of connected link elements defining scissor linkage interconnecting said flange member with said collar member; f. a gripping pad pivotally carried on each of said pairs of link elements; and g. means mounted on the end of said spindle opposite said collar member for manually affecting longitudinal movement of said spindle and movement of the gripping pad carried by each pair of said link elements in one direction to lock a yarn package thereon and in the opposite direction to release this yarn package therefrom.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein each of said pad members includes a biasing means for continually urging the ends thereof most remote from said housing in the direction of the axis of said spindle.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said package holder includes a positioning plate for locating the package thereon prior to locking it in position with said gripping pads.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said package holder includes means for varying the location of said positioning plate for accommodating yarn packages of different height. 